December 15, 2004 by s.z.

Like the Presidential Medal of Freedom Awards, Only For Deserving Candidates Well, it's December, time to reflect on another misspent year, and to partipate in the Koufax award nomination process over at Wampum (categories and closed comments here; more closed comments here; open thread here). I think the Koufax award are great, in that I always (at least, as of last year and this year) discover some great blogs I didn't know about previously.  And I am humbled and gratified when I learn that 2 or 3 people actually like this blog enough to nominate it in the "Best Blog With 'O'Crap' in the Title" category.  And I am bitter and resentful when I realize that the blogs owned Rupert Murdoch (TBogg, Jesus' General, The Poor Man, Roger Ailes, Sadly No!, Norbizness, Opinions You Should Have, etc.) are going to win in that category (as well as all the other good categories), and then I send love letters to Jonah Goldberg using their forged email addresses.  But seriously, the above are all great humorous blogs, and you should definitely read them, and probably vote for them, as well as the blogs you might want to nominate for the other categories, such as Best Blog, and Best Blog Dedicated to Making Fun of Andrew Sullivan (in this category, I suggest you consider Sully Watch)  But if you do vote for these other excellent but controlled-by-Satan blogs, you might want to think about donating a few buck to the good folks at Wampum, because the contest does take a toll on their bandwidth costs, and it's not like they are independently wealthy or anything (unlike the bloggers noted above, who receive seven-figure salaries from Murdoch for their efforts).  Yeah, that's the ticket.  If you want to vote for Fafblog, go right ahead -- but it will cost you a $50 donation to Wampum.  A vote for Sadly, No! will set you back $5.  However, voting for this blog will remain free (unless you're a nice person, in which case you would probably want to help out Dwight and MaryBeth anyway). And if I've violated some law by suggesting that you have to pay to vote for blogs other than this one, it was all Julia's idea (more or less). 5:16:02 AM

Warning Stickers Needed You've heard about those stickers which the Cobb Country school officials had placed in science textbooks which read, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.” Well, I think that consideration should be given to placing warning stickers on Bibles which say, "This book contains religious material.  Religious teachings are matters of faith, not facts, and some of this material is metaphorical and otherwise not to be taken literally.  This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.  If you are mentally ill, please do not do anything to your children after reading this material without first consulting a doctor or mental health professional." Here's the latest example of why this warning might be needed: McKINNEY, Texas According to her lawyer, a Texas woman who admits killing her baby daughter by severing the girl's arms was guided by a Biblical passage that refers to cutting off body parts to cast away sin. Attorney David Haynes says 35-year-old Dena Schlosser, who has a history of mental illness, has been quoting Scripture where Jesus says, "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away." Schlosser was charged with capital murder last month after telling a 9-1-1 operator that she had cut off her baby's arms. Police found Schlosser in the living room, covered in blood, still holding a knife and listening to a hymn. Haynes says Schlosser is still disoriented but is improving under medication that she's receiving in jail. Here's more, from the Houston Chronicle: [Haynes] said his client recently quoted to him a Bible verse in the book of Matthew that he said he believes influenced her actions. The verse Schlosser told him was: "If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." Haynes said he believes his client might have taken the passage literally. "I'm not a theologian, but I think the meaning is: If anything gets between you and your faith, get rid of it. It doesn't mean take a meat cleaver and cut something off," he said. No, it doesn't mean that.  But fundamentalist Christianity encourages believers not to question the Bible (and to just have greater faith if they want to see miraculous healings), so some people (especially those with mental problems) do tend to take these things literally.  Also, it seems that Schlosser was fixated on a pastor/prophet/media preacher, which led her to distance herself from her family.  Church leader Doyle Davidson says he barely knew Dena Schlosser. But family members say the Plano woman was a fanatic, speaking about him like a star-struck admirer. "All she did was talk about him. 'Aunt Judy, you got to get on the Internet and see him, listen to him,' " Judy Buczyna said. "And he said he didn't know her. Every word she spoke was about him." It was that obsession, her faith and postpartum psychosis, family members say, that drove Mrs. Schlosser on Nov. 22, the day her 10-month-old daughter's arms were cut off. Mrs. Schlosser is charged with the child's death. [...] Leslie Hunt, executive director of the Postpartum Resource Center of Texas, said it is possible that Mr. Davidson did not realize that he captivated Mrs. Schlosser. "People develop obsessions with other people all the time that they didn't know about. He's up on a stage and a self-proclaimed prophet. He was filling a psychological void for her that needed to be filled and became larger than life," Ms. Hunt said. Dr. Philip Korenman, who has a private psychiatry practice in Plano, said preachers have a responsibility to recognize when medical professionals are necessary and "when it's beyond the bounds of increased spirituality." Interestingly enough, the latest "news" at Davidson's website features an email from a believer who was healed of severe anxiety attacks by listening to tapes of Davidson's preaching.  Yes, it seems that it was just a demon that was causing all the trouble. My husband and I began listening to Water of LIfe teaching tapes several times a week, and one day the most amazing thing happened to me. I was laying in bed, listening to teaching, and praying, when suddenly it felt as though an ice pick was plunged through my head. I sat up, and I was fine. I believe that I had a devil cast out of me, and was healed As you will learn shortly, casting out devils is probably the cornerstone of Davidson's ministry. Anyway, Schosser's parents stated that the day before she cut off her daughter's arms, she told them that she could no longer be close to her family if they didn't believe in Davidson.  Her aunt also said that Schlosser's belief in Davidson took her away from her family and other sources of support, and then Davidson and his group didn't look out for her. But it seems that Davidson has had his own problems recently -- back to the Houston Chronicle for more about Davidson and demons: Mr. Davidson is known to "lay hands" on people to heal them and says he can draw the devil out of them. He said he was doing just that at Lisa and Harold Staton's Plano home in September when he was arrested for public intoxication. In a Plano arrest report, Ms. Staton said Mr. Davidson threw her on the couch, sat on top of her and started smothering and choking her. Her husband, Harold, saw Mr. Davidson sitting on his wife and pulled him off. Mr. Davidson told police that Mrs. Staton was upset with him and scratched him. He said she told him he "was possessed by Satan," the report said. "Davidson was raising his voice stating that Lisa and Harold Staton were both fired from their church for calling the police," the report states. Police noted that Mrs. Staton had redness around her chest and throat; and Mr. Davidson had scratches on his arms and neck. Police officers called to the scene noticed "a very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage" on Mr. Davidson's breath. He paid a $352 fine. The Statons could not be reached for comment. Mr. Davidson told his congregation Sunday that he was not intoxicated and he will be found not guilty. He said the woman was rebellious and he was trying to draw the devil out of her. Some in the congregation said Mr. Davidson has saved marriages and helped put their lives back on track with the practice. Um, yeah -- it was Mrs. Staton who had the unholy spirits in her.  And anyway, lying hands on women to drive out their demons makes a man thirsty, so it's only natural that Davidson would have had a little nip before starting work. Anyway, Davidson preaches a lot about how seemingly good people are possessed by "demonic spirits." For instance, here's part of a testimony by one of Davidson's follower, Georgann.  She explains how her husband (I think Henry is her husband -- her writing is rather hard to follow) was sorta healed of the seizures he experienced as the result of a severe head injury (and demonic attack). I recall that day that we left.The nurse gave me some instructions on the pills that Henry was to take They were called Dilantin and I asked the nurse what are they for. She told me that they were muscle relaxents .!?! We arrived at Henry's home town and stayed with his sister for awhile. I got Henry comfortable and decided that he did not need those pills because his arm and leg muscles looked preety relaxed to me!!!??!!.Later on that day; Henry had a major seizure. I knew that he was being attacked by demons but there were very few people, if any, who acknowledge that and I did not have full understanding.I did not even know that Henry had seizures until he was seen by the doctor in his hometown. I gave him his pills but I also gave him the words of Jesus. Well, not to discount the words of Jesus, but Dilantin isn't a muscle relaxant, it's an anticonvulsant, so it's a damn good thing that Georgann started giving Henry his pills before the demons caused a fatal seizure.  But the story continues: In December1997,HALLELUJAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!Father and of Jesus Healed Henry Completely of seizures.Seizures are the results of the demonic Warfare.Thank You Father and Jesus! [In a different font color] My Humbilist Apologies;Henry is not Yet healed of these demonic seizures.For close to two years and a half he did not have any but now he does have them.Very, Very Sporodic.And yes they are demonic seizures Georgann and her relatives have all kinds of demonic enounters throughout the course of her "testimonies."  And if what she writes in her testimony on mental illness is a true indication of what she has learned from Doyle Davidson, one can see why his church was the worst place possible for Dena Schlosser. Mental illness is Not a physical disease of the mind or will as the world would have you think it is.It is a combination of being under the Law, of the Curse of Adam,of being under the Jezebel Spirit, and of being under demonic spirits(satan)) that rule and reign in our souls and the oppression of satan in our  lives  [...] Father and of Jesus in Spirit and in Truth gave me understanding concerning 'taking the axe' and cutting the root of the Jezebel Spirit by binding her powers In Jesus Name out of me from my third and fourth generation of curses and of the passing of sins of my father and mother from one generation to the next. [...] In the world they call mental illness a sickness of the mind but in truth Jesus said it is of the mind (will) that are possessed with the Jezebel and demonic spirits.It is being cursed with plagues because of not believing the Resurrection Power of the Gospel of Jesus. So, if Schlosser was ever worried about the post-partum depression for which she received treatment after the birth of her last child, she might have just believed that it was a manifestation of her own wickedness and of the demonic spirits that possessed her.  And she would have wanted to do something to help her daughter, to whom she had unwittingly passed on these demonic spirits -- and if Doyle talked about "taking the axe" to the evil spirit, and if the Bible said to cut off the body parts that offend, she'd better do it if she didn't want her daughter going to hell. In any case, this is a tragic story that demonstrates once again how the combination of post-partum psychosis, a lack of social support, and extreme religious beliefs can be deadly to children. But the story about prophet Davidson getting arrested for his drunken laying of hands to expel demons in Mrs. Staton is kind of funny. Doyle Davidson, Demon Slayer Bonus Georgann: Here's Geogrann futher explaining how we in the world are afraid to call a mental illness "demonic possession": Another example for this is the majical santa clause which is witchcraft but we call it childhood fantasies so we can justify the means Well, no WONDER Bill O'Reilly is the only one defending Christmas: all the other news personalities don't want to be accused of promoting demonism and witchcraft! 2:45:41 AM